Theories

There are many theories surrounded the learning process and social pedagogical networks. Theories always remain as theories if it were not being used in the real situation. Typically, there are two popular theories which have been showing evidence of improvement and practically important. It has been used in higher learning institution in many online courses. 

1. Social Constructivism

2. Connectivism



Social Constructivism

            Social constructivism is closely related to social constructionism in the sense that people are working together to construct artifacts. However, there is an important difference: social constructionism focuses on the artifacts that are created through the social interactions of a group, while social constructivism focuses on an individual's learning that takes place because of their interactions in a group. 'Strong' social constructivism as a philosophical approach tends towards the suggestion that "the natural world has a small or non-existent role in the construction of scientific knowledge (Collin, 1981). According to Boudry & Buekens (2011), Freudian psychoanalysis is a good example of this in action. 

           Social constructivism is a variety of cognitive constructivism that emphasizes the collaborative nature of much learning. Social constructivism was developed by post-revolutionary Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky. Vygotsky was a cognitivist, but rejected the assumption made by cognitivists such as Piaget and Perry that it was possible to separate learning from its social context. He argued that all cognitive functions originate in, and must therefore be explained as products of social interactions and that learning was not simply the assimilation and accommodation of new knowledge by learners; it was the process by which learners were integrated into a knowledge community. According to Vygotsky (1978, 57),

• Every function in the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level and, later on, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals.

Vygotsky’s theory of social learning has been expanded upon by numerous later theorists and researchers. Below is a video showing examples on how we can apply this theory of learning in classroom.

Connectivism 

     Connectivism is a theoretical framework for understanding learning.  In connectivism, the starting point for learning occurs when knowledge is actuated through the process of a learner connecting to and feeding information into a learning community.  Siemens (2004) states, “A community is the clustering of similar areas of interest that allows for interaction, sharing, dialoguing, and thinking together.”

      In the connectivist model, a learning community is described as a node, which is always part of a larger network.  Nodes arise out of the connection points that are found on a network.  A network is comprised of two or more nodes linked in order to share resources.  Nodes may be of varying size and strength, depending on the concentration of information and the number of individuals who are navigating through a particular node (Downes, 2008).

     According to connectivism, knowledge is distributed across an information network and can be stored in a variety of digital formats.  Learning and knowledge are said to “rest in diversity of opinions” (Siemens, 2008, para. 8).  Learning transpires through the use of both the cognitive and the affective domains; cognition and the emotions both contribute to the learning process in important ways.

     Since information is constantly changing, its validity and accuracy may change over time, depending on the discovery of new contributions pertaining to a subject.  By extension, one’s understanding of a subject, one’s ability to learn about the subject in question, will also change over time.  Connectivism stresses that two important skills that contribute to learning are the ability to seek out current information, and the ability to filter secondary and extraneous information.  Simply put, “The capacity to know is more critical than what is actually known” (Siemens, 2008, para. 6).  The ability to make decisions on the basis of information that has been acquired is considered integral to the learning process.

     The learning process is cyclical, in that learners will connect to a network to share and find new information, will modify their beliefs on the basis of new learning, and will then connect to a network to share these realizations and find new information once more.  Learning is considered a “. . . knowledge creation process . . . not only knowledge consumption.”  One’s personal learning network is formed on the basis of how one’s connection to learning communities are organized by a learner.

    Learners may transverse networks through multiple knowledge domains.  The peripheries of knowledge fields are porous, allowing for the interdisciplinary connections to be made.  Siemens asserts, “The ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill” (Siemens, 2008, para. 10).  The connectivist metaphor is particularly timely, since the navigation of the Internet and the means by which information is dispersed on the Internet now provides a reference point for Siemens’ assertions.

Below is the video about Connectivism by George Siemens: